Jules runs the Royal Parks

Jules is running the Royal Parks Half Marathon on 9 October in aid of Mind, the UK's leading mental health charity. Impressively, he has been leaping out of bed around the time that Willy makes his fifth and final attempt to get in (i.e. far too early) and running in to work along the canal which is about 10km.

You can find his fundraising page and sponsor him online at www.virginmoneygiving.com/runjules.

Unfortunately there was some confusion over sizings, and Mind has helpfully sent him a medium Mind running vest which is woefully inadequate if not downright indecent! Hopefully this can be rectified before the big day...

In other news, Sofia now has a hot pink cast on her arm in place of the temporary one and is enjoying celebrity status at school because of it. Luckily Willy was at nursery that morning, as we spent nearly 3 hours at the fracture clinic.

And I did succeed in growing a (singular) pumpkin or squash of some kind this year but its stalk snapped today so it's now reclining in the fruit bowl looking very green and about the size of a rock melon. Jules saw it and said: 'Face it Rac, we're just not gardeners.'

Sofia's cast

Sofia's Cast, originally uploaded by Racmol.

...and this is the 'after' shot. Soft play rooms are dangerous places, apparently.

The x-ray and the swelling suggest a fractured elbow. She got a temporary cast put on and we have an appointment at the fracture clinic for Thursday to get it reassessed and the long-term cast put on if necessary.

So at least there was something for show and tell on Monday! She has been revelling in all the attention from teachers, parents and classmates alike - but is outraged that one of the teachers prevented her from climbing up some playground equipment.

Ready for the fancy dress party

Ready for the fancy dress party, originally uploaded by Racmol.

So, anyway, at the weekend there was a fancy dress birthday party at Hopscotch. This is the 'before' shot...

What Willy does when Fia's at school

What Willy does when Fia's at school, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Jules pointed out at the weekend that the blog was getting a bit Sofia-centric, so I thought I'd include a shot of Willy recovering from the weekend before I tell you about the weekend itself (which will be mainly about Sofia for reasons that will become obvious).

Willy has swimming at 1pm on Monday so at 12.20 I went downstairs to search for togs and towels. Five minutes later, this was the scene in the living room. We didn't make it to swimming and he slept for two hours.

Officially a school girl

First day of school 2, originally uploaded by Racmol.

So the first day of school finally dawned today, after weeks of anticipation.

So far, so good. We weren't late. We didn't forget to take the lunchbox out of the fridge. Some kind person had put a princess sticker next to Sofia's name on her coat peg. There was a whole army of dinosaurs for Willy to play with while we got all the bits and pieces organised in the various bins and trays. And she was not a bit concerned when we left, being half way through a puzzle by then.

We had had some discussions over the past couple of days about how you sometimes meet people who say mean things and how you don't have to listen, you can just brush it off. (Particularly after on Tuesday we were at Rascals and some bigger boys apparently said mean things and she dissolved into a flood of tears.)

So it was pleasing that at the end of the day as we were on our way out of the gates, Sofia said casually 'There was one child who was bad, and he hit me and I just went like this' and she did this elaborate sweep with one hand from the shoulder to the wrist of the other arm, and then repeated it on the other side!

I think I'll go to bed now. The stress of the school run plus the late night packed lunch preparation is taking its toll.